BEST Way to Protect Comics

Listen, there ARE some knowledgeable people who really do know their stuff when it comes to collection protection, and thank goodness we do have people out there who know what they are doing! We also have some companies that DO manufacture acid free products for collectibles like we do. That is also good... because without a magic wand, I doubt we could set up enough buildings with all the necessary equipment and skilled workers to make those products fast enough to supply the worlds needs...HOWEVER...(haha...you had to know that was coming) I am a little biased about our company and not because it is family owned...it's because I can say without blinking an eye that ALL we say we are and do, we are and do!!!!!! When I was younger and in sales, it was so easy because I never had to sell..the products sold themselves. But now we're in an age where China is on the band wagon, and can undercut most all U.S. manufacturers. The potential glitch in that is that the certification and proprieties are not the same as ours, so you may not be getting what you think you are. There is also a mindset that you "just throw it in a bag and it will be OK"....that's dangerous thinking, unless the bag is filled with water and you're transporting a goldfish. I invite you to take a challenge...request one of our catalogs and a few samples and make a real comparison. (We CAN supply you with the product materials...can your current company do that?). WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE??? Well, it's possible you have everything to lose...so message me..talk to me!!!!! Let's see what if anything we can do for you!!!

Fantagraphics and Love and Rockets

In the fall of 1982, Fantagraphics published its first issue of Love and Rockets, a black-and-white magazine featuring stories and art by the brothers Jaime, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez, a.k.a. Los Bros. Hernandez. These early comics, informed by the brothers’ love of Archie comics, science fiction, punk rock and their own SoCal Latino heritage, laid the foundation for one of the most ambitious, influential and acclaimed indie comic series of all time. “We didn’t think it would last more than a few years,” said Mario. ”They thought they’d do this for a while, then head off to Marvel or DC.” Instead, while Mario scaled back his involvement with the series after the early issues, Jaime and Gilbert went on to produce thousands of pages of comics, earning more than 20 major comic industry awards along the way, including the Harvey, Kirby and Ignatz Awards. It’s hard to overstate the impact that Love and Rockets has had on independent comics over the past three decades. Small-press comics began with the underground comix boom of the 1960s and gained traction in comic book specialty shops in the 1970s with the success of Dave Sim’s Cerebus and Wendy and Richard Pini’s Elfquest. In the 1980s, Love and Rockets kicked off an entirely new alternative comics scene. Los Bros. blended high comedy with high drama, juxtaposed magical realism with stark reality, and explored interpersonal relationships with rare sensitivity and insight. Love and Rockets also highlighted people who’d rarely been seen in comics before. Up to that point, Latino characters had rarely appeared in comic books, but Los Bros.’ comics were populated by a largely, and sometimes exclusively, Latino cast of characters. In the 1980s, Love and Rockets was also unusual for its strong female lead characters, extensive female supporting cast, and positive portrayal of LGBT relationships. Over the years, Love and Rockets has been widely praised by Latino cultural associations, and Jaime Hernandez has been praised by GLAAD for tackling gay and lesbian issues. Over the years, Love and Rockets has covered many storylines, with each brother developing his own densely-populated fictional universe. Gilbert’s stories, set in a small Latin American village called Palomar, form a sprawling multi-generational epic evocative of the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez. Jaime’s Locas stories follow a group of friends in the southern California punk scene, focusing on best friends and sometime lovers Margarita Luisa “Maggie” Chascarrillo and Esperanza “Hopey” Leticia Glass. The Cartoon Art Museum’s exhibition follows Love and Rockets from 1982 until 1996, when Los Bros. concluded the magazine-formatted series with its 50th issue through its revival in 2001 for a 20-issue comic book series and its current incarnation as an ongoing series of annual publications from Fantagraphics called Love and Rockets: The New Stories. Posted: September 26th, 2012 under Current Exhibitions, Events, Exhibitions, Now Featuring @ CAM, Past Events.

What Makes Us Different is ....

I think there is an extreme importance to define why Bags Unlimited is different from other companies. First, I do believe there ARE other good companies out there, but I think BU is more of a niche company, well defined and shaped by our customers. We place a HIGH regard on QUALITY, INTEGRITY with an emphasis on assurance that we are manufacturing only top grade products that we stand behind. We also know that the economy is tough, and although we too have rising costs, we try to off-set some of those costs by offering wholesale, bonus points, weekly special and close outs. If you have never tried any of our products before, I would like to invite you to try us once and see what a difference it can make. FREE SHIPPING east of the MI, and free shipping anywhere (*except on plus frt. notices) when you spend 200.00. ...we are here to help! Let us know if you need a free catalog and/or sample! Sincerely, The BU Team. www.bagsunlimited.com

Comic Art & Graffix Gallery - History of Sequential Art

Comic Art & Graffix Gallery - History of Sequential Art

Short, yet interesting bit on the progression of art all the way up to Spiderman. If you have a few moments, it's worth the entertaining read!
Thanks!
www.bagsunlimited.com

Jean “Moebius” Giraud, 1938-2012 | The Comics Journal/GREAT Comic Art

Jean “Moebius” Giraud, 1938-2012 | The Comics Journal

Moebius was one of the most talented artists I have ever come across. He passed away from cancer last year at age 73, but not without leaving us a legacy of some of the most intriguing art (comic) ever to be produced. Although I did not know Moebius personally, I knew him vicariously through a close friend who was nearly as (if not AS) talented as Moebius.
I have loved the detail of his work from the first time I ever laid eyes on it.....if you have a love of great comic art, please click on the link and read about Moebius.
 

10 Best Animated Comic Book Series of All Time

OK, here's another one, boys and girls! It's taken from Newsarama who also posted the sad news about CBG closing their doors...S-A-D...but maybe some animation will cheer you up! Here we go!

Stan Lee Turns 90!

Stan Lee Turns 90!
Read the article on Stan Lee. It's amazing (as in AMAZING SPIDER MAN) that Stan Less is 90 and still going strong..maybe comics keep us young!

THE END OF A GREAT YEAR AND THE START OF A NEW ONE!

Bags Unlimited would like to say "THANKS" to all those who have visited our website, read our blogs, purchased any of of our products and those who stopped in to say "HI"! We appreciate our clientele and would like to wish each and every one of you a VERY safe, healthy and happy New Year!!!!! Here's to 2013!

Original Puzzles From Jaymar Puzzle Company! Makes a Great Gift!

These handsome, uncut DISNEY PUZZLE SHEETS were created in the early 1990's by Jaymar Puzzles in Rochester, NY. The designs were created by actual Disney artists and purchased by Jaymar to convert into puzzles. The colors are vibrant and the images have excellent detail. They are available in either UNFRAMED or FRAMED format: UNFRAMED uncut puzzles come matted, with a corrugated backing and enclosed in a crystal clear polypropylene sleeve. FRAMED uncut puzzles have the following specifications: Black 1-1/4" wood frame; Black mat 1/16" thick, pH neutral and a 3% calcium carbonate buffer; Crystal clear acrylic front glazing, .093" thick; Corrugated backing. NOTE: Click on drop-down to see pricing of unframed puzzle sheets. $4.00 small order charge will apply to unframed, uncut sheet pricing if order total is under $25.00.

SAVE MY COMICS...PLEASE

e store comics to keep them valuable. Air pollution, ultra violet light, dirt and oil from fingers as well as rough handling all contribute to the deterioration of a comic. Storing a comic properly is essential to keeping it valuable. There are 3 major storage components to proper comic storage. They are a comic bag, a comic backing board and a comic box. Comic Book Bags Bags Putting your comic in a properly sized comic bag not only keeps dust, dirt and finger oils off the comic book surface, but helps prevent scuffing which can bring down the value of a comic book considerably. The three most popular comic bag materials are polyethylene, polypropylene and Mylar. Bags Unlimited carries New Comic Bags, Regular Comic Bags, Dell & Silver Age Comic Bags and Golden Age Comic Bags as well as Treasury Comic Bags in all three of these materials. All three materials are considered to be archival-meaning that there is nothing in the composition of the material that can contribute to the breakdown or destruction of the comic being stored in it. Mylar is considered to be the most archivally sound and is the choice of most museums and archivists as it has the longest shelf life of the three materials. Every day comic collectors can feel comfortable using polyethylene comic bags or polypropylene comic bags. Our comic bags come with a fold over flap that can be taped on the outside of the bag. We also carry comic bags with a reseal tape on the body of the bag (vs. the flap), so the tape doesn't catch on the comic and cause damage to the comic. Comic Book Mylar Sleeves Mylar Bags Comic Book Backing Board Backing Board Comic Backing Boards come in different thicknesses and acid-free properties. The basic purpose for using a backing board is to give the comic some stiffness, which helps keep the comic pages from bending, creasing or wrinkling. When a backing is placed in the center of the comic it protects the comic book spine from crushing. The second purpose for using a backing board in a comic is its potential to neutralize acid in the comic book paper. Acid in the paper that the comic is printed can cause the deterioration of the comic. Using an acid-free backing in your comic can potentially trap and neautralize acid in the paper. The three types of comic backing boards we offer are: economy comic backings, standard acid-free comic backings and archival comic backings. The economy comic backing should be used for short-term storage and stiffening purposes only. It does contain acid and can contribute to the breakdown of the comic. People generally use this board for quick sale items. The standard acid-free comic backing material is acid-free and can be used for long-term storage (over 100 years). The archival comic backing material is acid-free and buffered with calcium carbonate, which means that it will remain archival for 100's of years. Our comic backing boards are sized to properly fit into our comic bags. Corrugated Comic Book Boxes Corrugated All of our Comic Boxes are super strong and come with sturdy well-fitting lids and handle holes that can be left in the closed position for storing or pushed open for carrying. They are properly sized to hold a comic in a bag with a backing board. Our comic divider cards (used for categorizing) fit in our comic boxes with the lid on. All of our comic boxes ship flat which takes up less storage room. They fold together when you are ready to use them without glue or tape. Storing your comics in a properly sized box helps protect your comics from corner and edge damage. Putting your comics in a comic box also protects the comic from being exposed to ultra-violet light. Ultra-violet light causes inks to fade. Our comic boxes are made form either Corrugated Plastic or Corrugated Cardboard and come in several different lengths for your various storage/display needs. Comic storage boxes do not need to be acid-free if you have your comics in bags. For short tern storage the most popular material choice for comic storage boxes is corrugated cardboard. It is sturdy and reasonably priced. Corrugated plastic comic boxes are an excellent choice for long-term comic storage because the material is acid-free, water proof, vermin resistant and extremely strong. They are more expensive than the corrugated comic boxes, but the material properties of the plastic corrugated material make the extra cost worth the investment for long term archival comic storage. Plastic Comic Book Boxes Corrugated Plastic For More Information Call Toll Free: 1-800-767-BAGS or send E-mail to: info@bagsunlimited.com Fax: 585-328-8526 7 Canal Street · Rochester, NY 14608 Copyright © 2001-2004 Bags Unlimited, Inc. All Rights Reserved

INVESTING IN COMICS

When it comes to which comics to invest in, many forget one important ingredient about comic investing. The one thing most forget is getting the most value for your investments when it comes to buying them and the time to sell them. The debate about whether to get your comics third party graded by professional grading services like CGC and PGX still rages. Some refuse to get comics graded. I'm going to reveal why this is a mistake. There will come a time when you'll want to sell your comic books. Your main goal should be getting the highest return on your comic investments. Ungraded books will leave you with a higher risk of selling your comics or collection for far less than they're worth. Most collectors don't know how to properly grade. This leaves them wide open targets for comic dealers. There are some trust-worthy dealers out there, but there are also many comic buyers and dealers who are looking to rip you off when buying your collection. Many will under grade your collection and try to get your key issues as cheap as possible. Comic books that aren't professionally graded by CGC or PGX run the risk of too much subjectivity. You may think you're book comic is at a Near Mint, and it may be, but a comic dealer can persuade you that it's no higher than a grade of Fine. A comic that's CGC graded is considered "universal." That means whatever grade CGC grades the book, it's accepted by most collectors and dealers alike, making it harder for anyone to under grade your comics or to question the validity of it's grade. That fact is also important for many collectors as well. Many ebay sellers don't know how to grade and advertise their comics at grades higher than they should be. A comic that's CGC graded eliminates this problem. If it's CGC graded, you can be certain that you are paying for the grade the book is listed as. Both buyers and sellers benefit. Buyers don't want to pay for a book at a Near Mint price when it's real value is at a Fine, and someone selling their comic investments don't want to sell their comic at a Fine price when the book's grade and value is at Near Mint. Of course, getting your comic books graded by professional services like CGC or PGX can be expensive, as well as buying books already graded. This is why it's important to know which comics to invest in as well as which comic investments already in your collection that are worth getting CGC graded. Don't waste your money by sending comic books that aren't worth grading to CGC or PGX! Discover what are the best CGC comics to invest in by clicking the link, as well as the top comic investment choices to get professionally graded if you have them! Want even more comic investing advice? Visit my blog Total Comic Mayhem to learn even more secrets on investing in comics. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vic_J.

GET YOUR COUPON DISCOUNT CODES

Some people have been asking how do they get the coupon codes for discounts? Well, I have an answer for all you who have been waiting. Twice a year we do a great undertaking and send out a mass email. In that email you will find coupons codes for discounts, and updates on product info and other information that you may need to know.
Remember, the wholesale guidelines are posted on the website, and we do offer free samples upon request, and we WHOLLY support SHOWS and CONVENTIONS for collectors of almost every kind! * Ask for details.
Contact us by phone 800-767-2247, or by email to customercare@bagsunlimited.com and ask to put on the customer list. We do not sell or divulge your email to anyone.
*ALSO: some people order under two names! It's good to let us know so we can combine them (yet keep them separate if need be) so you can get your bonus points! Remember, bonus points add up to a 10% discount!